Biloxi, MS – Timothy Burt, a 30-year-old poker pro from Granada, MS is the winner of WSOP Circuit Ring Event #4, the $345 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. event at IP Resort Hotel and Casino.
Burt outlasted a field of 70 players to take down first prize, worth $7,178 and the coveted WSOP Circuit gold ring. Burt also earned 50 points toward qualification for the WSOP Circuit National championship to be held at Caesars Palace in May.
Before Burt started playing poker years ago, he was a pool player in his hometown of Grenada. He discovered that he could make more money from his fellow pool sharks on the round felt than the rectangle one and began running poker games at his local pool hall. Soon afterwards, he joined the army where he played poker online in his spare time.
“It was a profitable time,” he said with a chuckle. I made over 50 grand during my deployment and my fellow soldiers joked that I made more money in Iraq than the Colonel.” “I’d fight for six hours in the sectors of Baghdad then come back and play a few hours in my spare time.”
Going into the final table, Burt was near the top of the leader board where he remained for much of the afternoon.
Full final table starting chip counts were as follows:
| Name | Hometown | Seat | Chip Count |
| Bentley Roberts | Gadsden, AL | 1 | 17,000 |
| Steve Weigel | Woodland, AL | 2 | 104,000 |
| Charles Edwards | Lynchburg, TN | 3 | 192,000 |
| Kirk Flom | Biloxi, MS | 4 | 54,000 |
| Raymond Viers | Liburn, GA | 5 | 178,000 |
| Timothy Burt | Grenada, MS | 6 | 170,000 |
| Scott Clark | O’Fallon, IL | 7 | 34,000 |
| Barry Washington | Beaverton, OR | 8 | 31,000 |
8th Place – The final table began with Stud 8 with antes and bring ins of 1,000/2,000 and 6,000-12,000 limits. The first elimination of the night took place when Barry Washington was all-in on fifth street vs. Charles Edwards. Pot-committed after falling behind for the high hand, Washington was left needing one card to chop for the low, but bricked on sixth and seventh street, resulting in a high two pair while Edwards filled a boat to scoop the pot.
Washington is a 26-year waiter from Beaverton, OR. While his favorite game is Razz, he has had a number of major tournament cashes in NLH, including a first place finish at the Gulf Coast Poker Championship this past September. Eighth place was worth $844.
7th Place – Kirk Flom was the fourth place finisher. During a round of hold’em, his pocket kings failed to hold all-in vs. Scot Clark’s A-9. Flom is from Biloxi, MS where he finished first in a stud 8 event at the Gulf Coast Poker Championship in 2009. He earned $976 for seventh.
6th Place – In the next level of blinds, Scott Clark managed to scoop Edwards and Bentely Roberts, who was all-in during Omaha 8. Roberts, a 24-year old college student from Gadsden, AL, was sent to the payout table to collect $1,186 for sixth.
5h Place – Raymond Viers was eliminated during a round of Razz all-in with 5-3-7 vs. Edwards and Scott Clark. Viers drew to an 8-high, but it wasn’t enough to survive against Clark’s 2-3-5-6-7. Viers hails from Liburn, GA and is a former Peace Corps volunteer. He earned $1,517 for fifth.
4rd Place – Down to four players, play slowed considerably. It was over an hour before the next bust out. Steve Wiegel was eliminated in fourth during hold’em after his J-7 was dominated on an all-in by Edwards’ J-8. Wiegel was unable to improve on the board, resulting in a $2,047 payday. Weigel is a business owner from Woodland, AL. He’s been playing for 20 years and his poker ambition is simply to keep enjoying the game he loves.
3nd Place – Three-handed play saw Timothy Burt sandwiched between two former WSOP Circuit Ring Event champions, Edwards and Clark. Clark was eliminated in third place during a round of hold’em all-in with K-10 vs. Burt’s K-Q when both paired their live cards on the board. Clark plays poker professionally in his hometown of O’Fallon, IL. He is a syndicated blogger on St. Louis’ premier sports and gaming website, insidestl.com. He earned $2,924 for third.
2nd Place – Heads up play was between Burt and Edwards. Burt had the chip lead over his opponent, which he held the rest of the way. Edwards managed to double up a couple of times during heads up action, but ultimately succumbed during the hold’em round when Burt led him with a succession of 60k bets through the flop and turn. Pot-committed, Edwards ended up all-in on the river with queen-high to Burt who completed a boat.
This was Burt’s first WSOP-related tournament win, but with his wide skill-set, will almost certainly not be his last.
“It feels great to win this,” he said after his victory. “I’m glad they finally brought the WSOP down to Biloxi, it’s been a great tournament and the IP is a wonderful venue so I’m glad they chose to bring it here.”
Burt says non hold’em and mixed games are becoming more popular and he predicts that they will take off in the years ahead because skill is more of a factor with less variance. He says the biggest mistake that many mixed game players make is overvaluing big pairs in hi/lo games and drawing for only half the pot.
See the complete IP Resort Hotel and Casino poker tournament schedule and previous results here. The WSOP Circuit at the IP runs through November 10th. You can find the complete 2010/2011WSOP CIRCUIT SCHEDULE here.
IP Resort Hotel and Casino
850 Bayview Ave
Biloxi, MS 39530
Telephone: (228) 436-3000
Toll-Free: 1 (888) WIN-AT-IP
www.ipbiloxi.com